Well I finished up my last lawns today.
Overall it was a good first year, I haven't crunched all the numbers yet but will be running all the reports in the next few weeks.
but I do have some quick #'s

Lowest Number of Customers at one time 8
Highest Number of accounts at one time 51
Number of accounts resigned for 2012 (As of Oct 21st) 10

Now out of that 51 there was several foreclosure and Real Estate jobs and some one offs mowing and landscaping. I had 22 weekly scheduled lawns and have so far signed up 10 but am still waiting replies for several others so I could see the number rise to some were near 20. Oh ya I almost forgot I did sign up one new customer for next year, It was a neighbour of one of my big customers and he liked my work so he ask me to do his yard next year.

I do believe I turned a small profit but I won't know this till all the bills for Oct are paid and I can run the Quick book reports.

Regardless to the out come I am very happy and am looking forward to 2012 already.

1) working for yourself is hard work.
I am harder on myself then any boss I have ever had, The hours are long and the works is hard. There is never any end to the things that need to be done.

2) Sales
Getting your name out there is not an easy task, Its a dog eat dog world and believe it or not lawn mowers are a dime a dozen so you need to stand out from the million other guys with a mower. which brings me to #3

3) Quality Work Nothing trumps quality work. No one ever complained that you took to long and did too good of a job. But snip off one frigging rose bush and the whining never ends.

I don't think there is anyone thing that I would change, Yes I made some mistakes along the way and yes I learned from my mistakes but that is what there for. I only wish I had done this when I was 20 instead of waiting till I was 50. But I can't change that so I must go with the cards I am dealt.

Man, if I started doing this when I was 20, I'd be sitting in Barbados, sipping a pina colada right now while my crews do all the work!
Imagine the growth potential with that much time.

It's tougher physically to start out when you're an old geezer like Ducke ( ), but with age, comes experience, and wisdom, and that helps to compensate in other aspects of the business.

I also truly believe that a lot of people are more comfortable dealing with/hiring an older person. There are a gazillion "young kids" out there doing this work, but only about a half dozen of them appear to give a damn about what they are doing.

What I am seeing from this discussion is that now is always the best time to get started no matter what your age is. Regardless where you are in life, there seems to always be upsides and downsides to your age so with that in mind, it is better to start now.

What I am seeing from this discussion is that now is always the best time to get started no matter what your age is. Regardless where you are in life, there seems to always be upsides and downsides to your age so with that in mind, it is better to start now.